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Top Tips for Reaching Your Team Targets!

The MacLeod Review of employee engagement proposed that the relationship between employees and employers should be placed at the center of business plans. Strengthening this relationship can have a multitude of benefits on the overall success of your business and can be the tipping point of whether you achieve set targets or not.

One of the best ways to build a positive proactive relationship is through implementation of a rewards program into your business. Employees that work in businesses that have a reward program in place say they feel more valued (85%), are more loyal to the business they work in (65%) and get better results (60%).

Tips for Implementing an Effective Rewards Program
When introducing a reward program, be mindful of these few points:

1. The program should have well-defined business objectives (increasing their retail sales or raising productivity or ability to upsell or cross promote).
2. Your rewards program needs to be meaningful and valuable to employees, and it must encourage better levels of performance. It should not put their targets beyond realistic reach.
3. Employees need to be consulted so that the benefits of the rewards program can be effectively communicated and clearly understood by all those participating. One-on-one meetings tend to work best in this regard.
4. All set targets need to be tracked on a daily basis and their results measured and reviewed regularly.

It is important to choose a reward program that is customized to fit your team and business model. Take the time to get to know your team and what motivates them, and try different rewards until you can until you can formulate what works best for you.

Here are a few basic examples of reward incentives that could work for your business:
• Reward therapists for retail sales using a sliding scale for commission.
• Reward entire team when monthly goals are achieved.
• Reward highest re-booking rate.
• Reward achievement of productivity goals.
• Reward for therapist with the highest retail-to-service ratio.
Remember that money is not the only reward that motivates people. Other options might include:
• product allocations
• time off
• tickets for a special event
• internal staff recognition program

While rewards will incentivize some team members, others may simply need some additional training. We all know that knowledge equals growth and success, yet it always surprises me how few businesses in our industry actually invest in staff training. One the biggest reasons why someone is not good at retailing is because they have little to no knowledge about the product that they are retailing and therefore lack the single most magical ingredient when it comes to retailing – confidence! Investing in staff training is a sure fire way to boost confidence levels while providing the individual with the fundamental retailing skill set. It’s imperative that you partner with a company that has an ongoing training program that provides your team with a variety of workshops to help them refine or develop their individual retailing skill set.

These workshops should be followed through with a specific action plan that has been set by management. The action plan should include specific, realistic retail targets and a customized reward incentive for achieving those targets.

Ideas to help your team achieve their goals might include:
• Use a strong retailer to coach someone who needs improving.
• Have a product focus of the week/month and follow through with education at your team meeting.
• Allow team members to try samples or testers of products. Therapists are more confident in recommending products they use and love themselves.
• Make sure that your day-to-day management is positive. You’ll waste both money and time if you use negative reinforcement as your management style. There’s no substitute for daily contact with employees – asking how they’re doing, asking if you can help with any problems and, most importantly, recognizing even small improvements.

By implementing a few of the above-mentioned strategies, you’ll find that success is easier than you may have initially perceived. Wishing you a successful and prosperous 2013!